August Expedition to Refresh Regional Cabled Array
OOI’s Regional Cabled Array team will be spending the month of August 2022 in the Pacific for its annual Operations and Maintenance Expedition to ensure the cabled component and instrumentation remain operational for another year. The operation is so complex that it will be conducted in five separate legs. The team will be aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson, operated by the University of Washington, which will host the remotely operated vehicle ROPOS, operated by the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility. Live video feeds from the ship make it possible to directly observe parts of the seafloor rarely seen by humans –the most active submarine volcano off the Pacific coast, Axial Seamount, and one of the most extreme environments on Earth – underwater 700°F hot springs teaming with life. Debbie Kelley, Mike Vardaro, Julie Nelson, Brian Ittig, Wendi Ruef, and Oerst Kawka served as Chief or Co-Chief Scientist for various expedition legs. Cruise duration: August 8-September 17, 2022. Check back regularly for updates!
Location
The Regional Cabled Array is the first US ocean observatory to span a tectonic plate. It is located in the northeast Pacific providing data from the seafloor and through the water column across the Juan de Fuca plate.
Ship
The R/V Thomas G. Thompson is a state-of-the-art oceangoing research vessel operated by the University of Washington.
Updates
Regular posts about life aboard the ship, work accomplished, and encounters with marine life.
